Northern Ireland one step closer to regulate gaming

Northern Ireland’s Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey announced that the country will reform the gambling laws for the first time in the last 35 years! The proposed amendments reportedly will include provision to open betting outlets on Sundays, while it will also make allowing children to play gaming machines an offence, apart from imposing a statutory levy on gambling operators.

Minister Hargey commented: “Gambling legislation has remained largely unchanged since it was enacted 35 years ago. As a result, gambling regulation here has not kept pace with industry and technological changes. In my view change is long overdue.

It is clear from our consultation that people are content for some of the existing legal constraints on gambling to be relaxed.

But they also believe that the government, the gambling industry and others need to do much more to prevent, control and combat problem gambling.”